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Immigration has contributed to the development of Canada's economy. The federal government is responsible for the decisions made regarding immigration.

Canada's three largest cities are Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. They are home to nearly four million immigrants, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of Canada's foreign-born population (based on 2006 statistics).

Examine the maps of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver to see where immigrants live within each of the three cities.

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Immigration is a federal government responsibility. The provinces, however, have immigration deals with the federal government to help to speed up the process of attaining skilled workers. Each province has developed its own plan under the Provincial Nominee Program to meet its needs for immigration. The Provincial Nominee Program is intended to streamline and speed the process of immigration to the provinces.

Alberta has developed the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program designed to attract skilled workers to the province.


Read "In what ways can provinces influence and implement immigration policies?" on page 189 of your textbook, Issues for Canadians to learn about the Provincial Nomination Program.

According to a CBC news story titled "Canada's Newcomers: Immigration Patterns", only 9.3 percent of new immigrants to Canada in 2006 chose to live in Alberta. (More than half of new immigrants to Canada in 2006 lived in Ontario.) At the same time, Alberta faced serious labour shortages in many sectors.


Examine the chart "Businesses and services reporting worker shortages in Alberta, 2006" on page 190 of your textbook,Issues for Canadians.

This chart is based on a survey of businesspeople who were each asked if they have enough workers to sustain their businesses.

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